Bead application properties are controlled during striping through adjustments made by the applicator in the field. The two most important field-controlled properties are the amount and dispersion of exposed beads across a line and the depth of embedment of the beads. These properties are influenced by such characteristics as: bead drop rate, speed of the striping truck, temperature, and viscosity of the binder material, etc. Beads must be applied according to TxDOT specifications. Bead drop rates usually range from 6 to 12 pounds per 100 square feet for thermoplastics and are often higher for paints and epoxies. For details see in Chapter 3, Section 4.